Man dies protesting helmet law

[derelict]

I suppose he could argue the choice was his to make, and make wrong, as he wishes. Though it would help his case if he were alive to argue his point.

Plus, helmets are awesome, who wouldn't want to wear one?

 

[DudeistBelieve]

It's sad. I hope his death will teach other anti-helmet activist the true cost of abstaining.

Dude, my state of New York is the biggest fucking nanny state in the U.S. It sucks. Can't even smoke on a train platform, over tax us for cola, the only legal weapon your allowed to carry is pepper spray, amongst other things.

Fuck the laws, helmets shouldn't be mandatory.

Are you really complaining that you can't smoke (read: annoy and potentially harm others) in a public area packed with people?

That one can not smoke, OUT IN THE OPEN AIR.

I'm not even a smoker but all these laws make me feel like 1984

I don't see how the fact that it is "OUT IN THE OPEN AIR" makes any difference.

That a person has a right to choose what enters their body so long as it's not harming anyone else, thusly it being out in the air limits 2nd hand smoke intake. Duh.

It still smells like crap regardless of whether or not it is harmful when diluted.

then you take 5 steps away. Dude I can understand the laws against smoking indoors, in bars (even that killed the bar economy), taxing the hell out of cigs the way New York does but their getting ridiculous. I feel like any moment Bloomberg is going to declare we have to live in plastic bubbles.

And then you bump into another person who is smoking! Seriously though, how big are these train stations? I have never seen one in the media that would be big enough to simply move away from the smoker without causing yourself too much inconvenience.

LIRR platforms are fairly large, from the few I've been on. I've never had a problem avoiding people on them.

 

[2fish]

This is both hilarious and terrible a sign of karma at the same time

Darwin will be pleased I may not even need to sacrifice a sick or old member of the pack tonight... maybe for the whole week?

Life has a sense of humor. It is just a really sick and really black sense of humor.

 

[Zac Smith]

I have no sympathy for this man I'm sorry to say, government's enforce these rules to ensure that accidents such as these do not happen. People may say "it's up the the rider if they want" but don't forget in a collision it's not just the rider who is part of it. How would you feel if a motor cyclist went into the side of your car and died as a result of not wearing a helmet? How do you think you would feel as the driver of the car, knowing that you were sadly part of that horrific event in which someone died?

 

[Lood NL]

I just have one thing to say:
Karma's a *****.

 

[Yoshisummons]

Darwin still lives. So long as you are not endangering others, why should I care what you do.

 

[Lilani]

It's sad. I hope his death will teach other anti-helmet activist the true cost of abstaining.

I like this post a lot, simply because you didn't make any snide comments about Darwin or stupidity or irony, as painfully easy as it would have been.

-snip-

Do you then, by chance, also oppose the seatbelt laws? The whole "click it or ticket" spiel?

 

[Odbarc]

Pure irony. I wonder if dying for his cause would have people reconsider the law?

 

[Hero in a half shell]

He was stupid; purposefully riding without a helmet was pretty dumb. But I actually agree with him. The problem with both the helmet and seat belt laws is that the only person at risk is the one not wearing one of the aforementioned equipment.

BEHOLD: The insanely graphic Northern Ireland road safety advertisements would disagree with you on that point.
Not wearing a helmet while motorcycling or indeed a seatbelt while driving is just sheer stupidity. you will almost certainly crash at some point, and when you do, you are completely screwed. Most people I know were in car crashes that would have almost certainly killed them had they not been wearing seatbelts, and several of the motorcyclists I know have been in severe crashes that would have killed them had they not been wearing a helmet. I cycle a lot in Belfast, and I would never think about leaving the house without my helmet or safety vest because I know the motorists never look for motor/bicycles and have a few close shaves.

And this story was the a textbook case of Irony. Every human death is a tragedy, but sometimes the circumstances are hilarious.

 

[SouthpawFencer]

Do you then, by chance, also oppose the seatbelt laws? The whole "click it or ticket" spiel?

Yes.

I always wear a seatbelt, and I'd choose to do so even if I wasn't required to by law (just like I wouldn't shoot heroin or smoke a joint even if drugs were legalized), but I really don't think that it's the government's place to protect us from our own reckless behavior.

Requiring children to be belted is a different matter, since it's not a child's fault if their parents are morons and aren't doing this regardless of existing law.

I'd also be more militant about this sort of thing if hospitals didn't have to treat these people and swallow the cost of the patient can't, or won't, pay. I'm a big believer in personal freedoms (disclaimer: YOUR right to swing your fist ends at the tip of your NEIGHBOR'S nose), but I also believe that people need to take responsibility for their own actions.

 

[brodie21]

repeal helmet laws. those stupid enough to not wear one will eventually die out.

 

[Gamblerjoe]

I knew that people would make comments on how this is an ironic death. Irony is when you get the opposite of what you expect, usually in a figurative kind of way. When someone opts to take the more dangerous option in a situation, and dies because of it, that is the opposite of irony.

This has been a public service announcement from Gamblerjoe to you.

 

[Arafiro]

Issue being, sometimes we forget to put on a seatbelt. Or perhaps we lost our helmet. And we end up needing to pay a ticket because we had the audacity to put ourselves, and no one else, at risk, probably just because of forgetfulness or something.

Whilst it's true that with a motorcycle helmet it is only for your benefit, the comparison to car seatbelts is not really a good one. Someone sat in the back seat of a car without a seatbelt will hit (with full force) the seat in front in the event of a crash, seriously injuring any occupant of said front seat, whether they are personally wearing a seatbelt or not.

 

[Dalek Caan]

Poor guy, wonder if the irony passed through his head(sorry) before he died. Hope he rests in peace and I hate how this happened, especially to him.

 

[Nudu]

He didn't deserve to die, and I think this is a terrible tragidy, but he did illustrate why the urge to ride a motorcycle without a helmet is not genetically chosen for.

That said I actually support his cause. I think you should have the freedom to make stupid choices unless it harms other people.

And by the way: THIS. IS. NOT. IRONIC!
If he had never used a helmet before in his life, watched a documentary on how helmets can save your life, decided to start using a helmet and died on his first trip with a helmet on it would have been ironic. Making a dangerous choice and suffering because of it is the opposite of irony.

Well every human life is protected by law and you can spout all that bullshit about ?freedom? all you want but even freedom has limits and this is one of them.

And the line is drawn at cheetos! Those a terrible for you.

I have a very clear-cut line between security and freedom: Harming others is not okay, what you do to your own body is your business.

 

[dancinginfernal]

Oh cruel irony. Life has claimed another in the midst of protest.

 

[Nudu]

I knew that people would make comments on how this is an ironic death. Irony is when you get the opposite of what you expect, usually in a figurative kind of way. When someone opts to take the more dangerous option in a situation, and dies because of it, that is the opposite of irony.

This has been a public service announcement from Gamblerjoe to you.

No, the irony is that he and others claim there is no need for a helmet, then in trying to prove that he proved he was wrong.

Well, I can't know for sure, but I doubt he was claiming that helmets were obsolete. I would think what he was protesting was the right to do stupid things.

 

[dalek sec]

The absolute worst/cruelest/funniest bit is that his protest group was called "American Bikers Aiming to Educate".

And Educate he certainly did.....

Pretty much what I was thinking when I read it as well. He sure as hell did educate people about what happens when you don't wear your bloody helmet. I'm not laughing at him for his death or in the manner of which he died but jeez...

 

[OpticalJunction]

There should be a full body armor law somewhere. Just think of the lives it would save!

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Bitter irony strikes again, it seems.

While it's unfortunate the man died, he pretty much did in himself, here.